I actually had these MOCs finished for a while, but hadn't been motivated enough to properly photograph and post them until tonight... Anyways, without futher ado, I present the re-done ADU Buteo Gunship and the Federal Republic of America Buteo Gunships:

The AV-12 Buteo Gunship was the result of a top-secret joint project between the Federal Republic of America Air Force and the Airborne Demolitions Unit (ADU) to develop a multi-role Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing (V/STOL) attack aircraft that could fill in for roles formerly held by such aircraft as the AV-8B Harrier, A-10 Thunderbolt II (although there is still limited production of those going on in the Federal Republic) and even possibly the AC-130 Gunship.

The end result of the project was a rather large, heavily armed and armored VTOL gunship, borrowing design elements from the A-10 and the Mi-24 Hind helicopter that manages to cover most of the roles listed: Armed with four Merculite Missiles (in twin wing-mounted launchers) for use against armored vehicles and heavy fortifications, two twin, wingtip-mounted Blaster (plasma) cannons for general purpose ground (and even air) attack use, dual Laser Cannons, also for general-purpose and anti-missile defense, dual M-242 "Bushmaster" 25mm Chain guns for antitank use and dual 0.50 caliber miniguns for light anti-material/anti-personnel use.

Propelling these monstrosities through the air are two 32,000 lb thrust turbofans, which are mounted high on the fuselage to minimize FOD (Foreign Object Debris) hazards when taking off and landing on rough/improvised landing fields on or near the front lines. The massive thrust of these engines also give these hulking brutes a surprising amount of speed, being slightly faster than the pre-Final War A-10 Tunderbolt II's.

The Landing Gear of the Buteos is all placed under the bulky part of the fuselage, allowing them, in case of an emergency, to (very carefully) land on the Helo decks of Federal Navy John Paul Jones Class Guided Missile Destroyers (and the Republic of New Jersey variant, the Samuel B. Roberts Class) and Antietam Class Guided Missile Cruisers.

Pictured here are the pilots of these two Buteos. The Federal Republic Air Force pilot on the left is Major Ulrika Da Flymek, Ace Pilot and crack aircraft designer, who was also a key member of the AV-12 Buteo design team.

Ulrika is the daughter of the (in)famous Orc Mekboy, Kog Da Flymek, who designed the Deffkopta (among other things) for the Chaos Air Force, but eventually defected to the Federal Republic of America because he, to put it in his words, "Got tired of dem Chaos gitz usin' me an' my boyz like 2-bit grotz," and went on to help design a number of Federal Republic aircraft (including the F/A 210 Thunderbird). Ulrika was thus exposed to, and enamored with, all things that fly since she was little and quickly followed in her father's footsteps when she grew up.

While I was initially satisfied with my earlier version, something just didn't seem right with it, and when I tried turning the wings around, so that they were swept back, instead of forwards, it looked 200% better. I also, after seeing the Galaxy Squad Swarm Interceptor had the white versions of the wings used, I decided to see how hard it would be to make a red and white (Federal Republic of America Air Force colors) version, and surprisingly, I was able to get all the missing parts I needed for the project with just two Bricklink orders (this included an almost mint condition 2x2 red slope with the old LEGO Town system #3 race car print on it).

Like I said the last time, they are somewhat based on the Jet Copter encounter set as well as the Vulture Gunships from Warhammer 40K, and the miniguns I made by combining two spare BrickArms minigun tips with 1x1 round bricks and "One Rings" from the LoTR and Hobbit sets to cover the ugly gap that would otherwise result from such a configuration.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Yahoo [Bot] and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum